Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg bought 54,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.30 per share, for a total transaction of $453,578.40. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 2,761,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,921,852.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) traded up 2.071% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.625. 28,043 shares of the stock traded hands. Mercer International Inc. has a one year low of $5.95 and a one year high of $10.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $557.65 million, a PE ratio of 14.643 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.39.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 22nd will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 20th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

MERC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. TheStreet cut shares of Mercer International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 17th. Finally, RBC Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Saturday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $12.13.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 75.6% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Acrospire Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 10.3% in the second quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 546.9% in the second quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 13,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 3.9% in the second quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 20,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc is engaged in producing (northern bleached softwood kraft) NBSK pulp. The Company operates in the pulp industry and produces pulp for resale, known as market pulp, in Germany. It also produces and sells tall oil, which is used as both a chemical additive and as a green energy source.